“Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars”

Sandra Delgado’s new play, now onstage at The Lookingglass Theatre, presented by Timeline Theatre Company (“exploring today through the lens of the past”) is about this topic. The World Premiere of “Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars”, written by Delgado and starring Delgado as  Clara is a masterful bit of storytelling that  takes us into the life of a family whose entire being is destroyed due to a few simple rules in the immigration laws that made it very easy for people who were raised in this country to not be granted a green card ( permanent residency) or citizenship.

This play tells us the story in 90 minutes ( no intermission) and under the skillful direction of Kimberly Senior on a stage/set designed by Regina Garcia, we get to meet Clara, her daughter Stella ( tonight played by Charlotte Arias and alternating with Simona Gueglio-Saccone), her ex-husband, David ( deftly handled by Brian King) and her Papi ( played to perfection byRamon Camin). Clara and David are divorced and have shared custody of their daughter. Clara and her daughter have a marvelous relationship and as the story and problems become larger, we see what can happen to people and relationships.

Clara has a bestie, Ruben ( this role is played by Donovan Marquis Diaz, BUT tonight was handled by Joshua David Thomas, who did a masterful job). There are a few female characters in the play as well all of which are played by the remarkable Charin Alvarez who can be an old lady, a young dancer, or in fact any type one might write into a play. Charin is what one might call a perfect ensemble member who can be anyone you need at any time.

The play touches many a person living in the United States who came here as a baby, and over the years, with different political parties taking the lead, have seen that immigration laws change. What are one’s rights? In this story, Clara was two years old when she came here. She grew up in the U.S. school system, doing the pledge every day, singing “My Country Tis Of Thee” with the belief that this was indeed “her country”, only to find out that a few changes here and there, and a change in power, could take all that she had known away and send her to a country that was never really hers. Could it be that one incident years before can change the rules so that what might have been expunged from a record can still alter the possibility of becoming a citizen forcing one to leave their child and father?

This exciting new play takes a strong look at how our system , supposedly the best, can fail those who might need it most. On the tech side, I found the lighting (Christine A. Binder) the sound ( Willow James), the costumes (Mieka van der Ploeg) and the props designer (Nicholas Bartleson) did great jobs. The choreography by Raquel Torre worked well and I was impressed at how the set was used. I loved the boxes that were built into the wall to either put items into or take them out. Clever, allowing the play to move swiftly along. The item that almost every production seems to rely on is projections and Eme Ospina-Lopez’s projections are perfect! The stars represent much more than just something in the sky, but, in fact, the feelings of a mother who must leave behind her home, her family and her past.

I know that very shortly Timeline will open its own new venue and while we are all anticipating this, I for one, want to thank the other Chicago venue’s who are making their spaces available to Timeline, keeping their company alive and well and bringing great history to our city.

Lookingglass Theatre is located at 163 E. Pearson Street ( at Michigan Avenue) in the Water Tower.

Parking at a discount is available at several garages. I always use the Olympia Center on Chicago Avenue , just East of Michigan Avenue, but you can opt for several at www.lookingglasstheatre.org